PROVIDENCE – The United States Youth Soccer Region Championships will be held in Rhode Island in 2013 and 2014, bringing with it an estimated $6.6 million in economic impact for local businesses.

“This tournament is one of the largest in the country and the numbers only tell part of the story,” said John Gibbons, executive director of the Rhode Island Sports Commission, in a statement. “We’ll have teams here from Maine to West Virginia. Our local hotel partners have really stepped up to the plate, so to speak, to help secure this business.”

The championships, part of the U.S. Youth Soccer National Championship Series, are expected to draw 4,500 athletes from 15 states and an additional 10,000 spectators.

Those attendees are expected to generate 25,000 hotel room nights over two years throughout Rhode Island and into parts of Massachusetts and Connecticut.

All games will be played at the University of Rhode Island. The event will be here June 27-July 2, 2013 and June 26-July 1, 2014.

The tournament previously was held in Rhode Island in 2000 and 2004.

“It really is some of the best youth soccer, in terms of quality of play, anywhere,” Gibbons said. “We are thrilled to announce this tournament will be residing in Rhode Island for two summers.”

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